Elijah V. White Laurel Brigade Wreath 1863-2014

Access and use

Location of collection:
Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Alexandra S. Gressitt
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195

Summary

Extent:
5 items
Creator:
Elijah Viers White
Abstract:
This collection consists of one artifact: a framed silk laurel wreath presented to Colonel E. V. White of the Laurel Brigade by "the Ladies of Leesburg" on 24 August 1864, and related manuscript materials.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of one artifact: a framed silk laurel wreath presented to Colonel E. V. White of the Laurel Brigade by "the Ladies of Leesburg" on 24 August 1864. The wreath has been removed from its original frame for preservation storage. Also present are related manuscript materials including one letter, with a transcription, and a pamphlet entitled Making War on Women July 5 A.D. 1864" by Reverend Elijah B. White III (1938-2016).

Biographical / historical:

Born in Poolesville, Maryland, Elijah Viers "Lige" White (1832-1907) lived in Loudoun County, VA at the outbreak of the American Civil War. The owner of Ball farm, White served the Confederacy as a scout and aid at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, receiving a captain's commission soon afterward and raising a company in Loudoun that became the 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry. White's battalion became part of the regular service as part of the Laurel Brigade, engaging in battles and skirmishes across Virginia, including some in Loudoun County.

On 27 August 1862, White and his battalion (known as White's Commanches) entered Leesburg after defeating the Union-aligned Loudoun Rangers at Waterford's Baptist Church. This entrance into Leesburg was celebrated by Confederate sympathizers in Leesburg, and later commemorated when the "Ladies of Leesburg" presented White and his battalion with cake and wine on the one year anniversary of the event, 27 August 1863. The commemoration continued a second year as the "Ladies" presented White with an artificial laurel wreath on 24 August 1864.

The artificial wreath presented to Colonel Elijah V. White on 24 August 1864 reflects broader classical themes embraced by the Confederacy. While traditions of wreath laying and presentation are found across various cultures and periods in human history, the laurel wreath was a symbol of honor presented to the victorious. The artificial wreath presented by the "Ladies of Leesburg" in 1864 reflects the Confederate emulation of classical ideals and motifs. Before and during the Civil War, people in the American South looked to Platonic and Aristotelian notions of "ordered inequality" and "natural slavery" as justifications for the Southern way of life. Southerners believed that their agrarian democracy resembled those of Ancient Greece, which trickled down into Southern decorative arts from Grecian temple-inspired plantation architecture to laurel wreath motifs on Confederate sword belt plates and insignias.

Acquisition information:
Provenance Unknown
Arrangement:

Folder

Physical description:
.